When patience is in short supply
by Odainath
Summary: Season 2 - 5.  "Ma'am," Emily says, and the title sounds vulgar coming from her lips.


**When patience is in short supply  
**S2-S5; Emily Prentiss, Erin Strauss _(Criminal Minds)  
_"_Ma'am," Emily says, and the title sounds vulgar coming from her lips_

_

* * *

_

_So selfish  
Two words that could describe  
Oh actions of mine  
When patience is in short supply_

* * *

Emily stands at the edge of the bed, buttoning her blouse with quick, nimble fingers. Erin watches, intrigued, and is startled when she hears a faint _'fuck'_ from the other woman's lips.

"What is it?" she asks.

"You left a bruise," Emily snaps, her fingers resting against the offending mark, eyes narrowed.

She says nothing more as she shrugs on her jacket and walks through the door, not sparing Erin a second glance.

-o-

Erin hides behind masks, which only the most observant can see past. Ironic then, she muses, that she voluntarily walk into the BAU, where all occupants are trained to look at (and through) such behaviour.

_(The phrase 'into the lion's den' enters her mind briefly)_

Aaron Hotchner sees through most of her constructs, but not all. No, that accolade goes to...

Erin turns and finds Emily looking up, brown eyes almost black, assessing her every move.

Instinct tells her that she's failed a test she didn't know she'd taken.

-o-

Emily's pale skin doesn't flush, even when her back curves and her breath comes in short gasps. Her chest rises and falls, her pulse quickens, but still her skin remains white.

Perhaps, Erin thinks, that's why she digs her fingers into her shoulders, scrapes her teeth along her collarbone; anything for a little _colour._

"I can help you," Erin says, tracing circles on Emily's pale shoulder.

Emily turns beneath her hands, her eyes hard, and holds Erin's gaze.

"I don't need your help."

She speaks through clenched teeth, her words clipped and tight. Erin says nothing as she leans forward, rests her forehead against the crook of Emily's neck.

"And if I need yours?"

Emily doesn't answer.

-o-

"_Ma'am,"_ Emily says, and the title sounds vulgar coming from her lips, _"I've come to tender my resignation."_

She throws the forms onto Erin's desk, pages spilling out like a fan, several falling onto the floor. Emily chuckles softly, watches as Erin is forced to kneel down.

"Why are you giving up your career for _him?_" Erin spits, a jealously she hadn't known she possessed filling her voice.

"I'm not," is the instant answer, "I'm refusing to be your little lap dog. There's a difference."

-o-

Aaron Hotchner takes her hand, keeping her steady as she gasps for air.

"_I stood on her hair."_

He speaks, telling her to 'keep it together' but Erin looks over his shoulder, seeking _her_ out.

Emily stares back, a cruel smile playing at her lips, eyes dancing with an unspoken _'fool-fool-fool.'_ Erin looks down, cheeks flushed with shame.

-o-

A hand at her waist, skimming lightly over her skin. Fingers ghosting against her collarbone, running along her jaw. She arches her neck and hears a laugh.

Two fingers press against her pulse point and she stops breathing.

"_You are human,"_ she hears Emily say. _"Sometimes, I wonder."_

She exhales only when Emily moves her hand away.

-o-

_She's oh-so-colourful now._

Her own thoughts mock her as Emily opens the door. Pale skin is blotched with angry red and purple, almost painful to look at.

"It's as bad as it looks."

A frank statement of fact, she should expect nothing less.

Later, they're quiet, the faint noise of traffic in the background. Erin touches the edges of a bruise, darker than any she's inflicted in the past.

"I'm sorry," she whispers.

"No."

Emily's voice is sharp, curt and Erin flinches as dark eyes grow darker.

"You do not get to pity me."

Her words are final: _finite._

_-o-_

Rain falls, spills over the gutters and onto the pavement. She keeps her head down as she walks to her car. Almost misses the figure trudging up the steps of Quantico.

Emily's long hair is a curtain, hiding her face from view, but Erin thinks she might be holding back tears.

-o-

"Why are you here?"

Cold, curt, unemotional. _Compartmentalisation. _Emily's favourite word resounds in Erin's mind and she wants to tear it to shreds.

"I thought-"

"Don't think."

Emily steps around her, making sure not to touch, and her heels echo off the linoleum floor. _Click-click-click._ A flash of red catches her eye, peeking out the top of Emily's bag.

A red tie.

Erin's lips twist into a frown.

-o-

"You cannot stop this."

In a corridor, so cold, so impersonal. Erin's hand touches Emily's wrist, long fingers lingering against pale skin. Her voice, loud in the silence, grates against her own ears.

Emily smiles without a trace of humour.

"But won't it be fun to try?"

Erin falters, unsure of herself, and Emily laughs beneath her breath as she walks away.

-o-

Notes: Criminal Minds and its characters are the property of CBS. No copyright infringement is intended. Title taken from the song 'So Sorry' by Feist. This ends very abruptly and for that I apologise. I might continue this at some point but I can't be certain.


End file.
